Holidays – Page 11

Categories: Holidays

Holiday Week: Confessions

1. This year, my mom and I bought a fake tree. I have been on Team Real Tree for the past 23 years, and the thought of going artificial made my skin crawl. But then I got to thinking about the process of buying a tree, bringing it home, fitting it into the stand, watering it, and dealing with the needles. Going artificial was a no-brainer and it has been so much easier.

2. This season, I cannot listen to the song “Christmas Shoes.” The song is so sad and puts me in a depressed funk. Also, I can’t stand the song “Same Old Lang Syne,” since I don’t think the singer has a very good voice. This song is just too corny for me.

3. Apparently, now you have to “Santa-tize” your hands before seeing Santa. I don’t remember doing this when I was a kid and remained perfectly healthy. It’s funny how germaphobe our society has gotten. (And I’m not saying in this a bad way, just an observation!)

4. We always wrap presents for our dog and put them under the tree. Doesn’t every pet owner do this? No?

5. I have no memories of any bad Christmases. My mom always did everything she could to make sure my brother and I had a great Christmas, even if she had to sacrifice a lot.

6. This is the first Christmas in a very long time that I will spend at home. My mom and I are hosting Christmas dinner and my brother, sister-in-law, and nephew are coming over. I am really, really excited about this.

7. This week fills me with all sorts of anxiety and fear that something horrible will befall my family and make the holidays a time of sadness for me.

8. Growing up, I always figured Santa came to our apartment and knocked on the door, even though in every movie, he came through the chimney. Unfortunately, we don’t have one of those so that was my best guess as to how Santa brought us presents.

9. Also, on the Santa front, I was always confused about why he wrapped our presents for us but in every movie, he didn’t wrap any presents.

10. Carol of the Bells used to scare the crap out of me. Now, it’s my favorite Christmas song.

What are some of your holiday confessions?
Don’t forget to enter my giveaway for some after-Christmas presents! Giveaway closes at 7pm EST on Sunday, December 26.

Categories: Holidays

Holiday Week: Christmas Questions

Since Ten on Tuesday this week is a bunch of random questions, I scoured the interwebs for Christmas questions to keep with my Holiday Week theme.

1. What’s the best gift you’ve ever received? How about the worst?

The best is a toss-up between my computer when I was 13 or my iPod Touch last year. Both were surprises and I was thrilled when I opened up the gifts. And both I used a lot.

The worst gift would have to be this paint program my aunt got for me when I was in 8th grade. It was Disney and more on a first-grader level. Its presents like those that help you realize your extended family knows nothing about you.

2. What is your favorite Christmas movie moment?

I love Elf and towards the end of the movie when Jovie gets in front of the big crowd and starts singing “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” and everyone joins in, including Buddy’s family. It makes me cry every time!

3. When do you open gifts?

Christmas Day! I am so not a Christmas Eve present opener. I love the anticipation that comes with Christmas Eve and wouldn’t change that for the world.

4. Do you believe in Santa? If not, who convinced you he’s not real?

I don’t. I was made fun of in second grade for still believing in Santa Claus and told my mom I didn’t believe in him around that time. But I still received presents from him for a few years after that. I do love how fun it is to believe in him. It’s been fun to talk about Santa with the older kids in my center because their belief in him is so pure and so strong!

5. What is your happiest Christmas memory?

Those Christmas Eve nights I spent with my brother. It started when I was in 6th grade and we made plans to play games while we waited for 6am to open presents. We kept true to this tradition until he moved out in 2006. We only managed to stay awake the whole night one year when we spent Christmas Eve at my uncle’s house and watched a whole slew of movies.

6. Describe an ornament that has special significance to you.

There’s not really an ornament that I would say has special significance to me. There are plenty of ornaments that I made when I was younger and a few of me at a younger age. And then we have a ton of snowmen ornaments that make me smile.

7. What famous person would you most like to encounter under the mistletoe?

I’m just going to be honest: nobody. There is no way I would do anything but freak out and probably pass out if I encountered a famous person under the mistletoe. While it would be pretty awesome to meet Jake Gyllenhaal under the mistletoe, I would be too shy to ever do anything. So, Jake, if we ever do meet, you’re going to have to make the first move, ‘kay?

8. When it comes to decorations, are you more of a Griswald or a Grinch?

I guess a Griswald but on a lesser scale. Our decorations are nice and festive, but it’s not overdone in any grand scale. Just decorating our living room and patio. They’re nice, though. I like ‘em!

9. What is your favorite version of a Christmas song?

I’ll admit that I’m not a big fan of Mariah Carey or Christina Aguilera’s Christmas renditions. They go so big and oversing almost every Christmas song. It’s a little annoying!

I’m not sure what my favorite version of a song is, though. I mostly love any rendition of ‘O Holy Night’, though. It’s such a pretty song!

10. Have you had any traumatic Christmas-related experiences?

No, thank God. I am so nervous this week that something awful is going to happen to my family and Christmas will forever be ruined.

A few Christmases ago, I had a terrible anxiety attack on the night before Christmas Eve that my mom was going to get into a car wreck on her way to work and die. Luckily, she was fine. And she called me just before she was leaving to let me know she was coming home. About 3 minutes after her call, the police knocked on the door, inquiring about my neighbor.

Oh, my gosh, you guys. If she hadn’t called before then, I would have probably thrown up on their shoes.

11. What would be an appropriate gag gift for most of your friends?

Probably Justin Bieber’s new “book”. (Did he really write a book?) I would love to give it to my work BFF just to see her face. Tehehe.

12. Would you rather be a partridge in a pear tree or a lords a-leaping and why?

Confession: I just Googled “partridge” and “lords a-leaping”. Apparently, this is the difference between a bird or a leaping dancer. I guess I’ll choose lords a-leaping because I’ve always wanted to be a dancer. A leaping dancer is just a bonus.

Don’t forget to enter my holiday giveaway – ends Sunday, December 26.

Categories: Holidays

Holiday Week: A Holiday Giveaway For You

This is my first-ever giveaway! I have wanted to do a giveaway on my blog for the longest time but have been so indecisive about what to get. My biggest worry is that everyone will think the items I’m giving away are lame and nobody will enter.

Well, I threw all that worry out the door as I headed to Target on Friday to look for fun things to put in a little holiday giveaway. It’s not anything exciting, but I had so much fun strolling through Target, throwing things in my cart that I think my lovely blog readers would like.

I recently hit 100 followers (through Friend Connect) which is such a huge milestone for me. I love every single one of you to bits and pieces, even the lurkers. (I have lurkers! How cool!) I blogged for so long with nobody reading or commenting that the fact that I can write a blog post and know people are reading and connecting with what I say? It’s amazing.

Here’s what you can win!

1 – Greenroom small notebook, made of 70% recycled material
2 – A three-pack of Uni-Ball Fusion pens in violet, pink, and blue
3 – Nicole by OPI nail polish, in “It’s Possible!”
4 – A sparkly headband

There are multiple ways to enter:
1. Leave a comment, telling me what you’re most looking forward to this Christmas. Only you can’t say “family” or “giving gifts.” Be creative! (1 entry)
2. Follow me on Twitter and leave a comment saying you do. (1 entry)
3. Tweet about the giveaway and leave a comment with a link to the tweet. (1 entry)
4. Blog about the giveaway and leave a comment with a link to the post. (3 entries)

Giveaway closes on Sunday, December 26 at 7pm EST. Winner will be announced on Monday, December 27.

I bought all of these items with my own money, I have not been compensated by Target or any of the companies mentioned above.

photo credit

Categories: Holidays

Thankful

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. A day of gorging, watching football, and being with family. It’s my favorite holiday of the year. My birthday is three days following it and it’s a kick-off to the holiday season. I can’t help but get swept up in the magic of the season and I turn into a five-year-old kid on Christmas Eve, anticipating what the next day will be like.

But Thanksgiving. A day of giving thanks. I haven’t missed the many posts floating around the blogosphere of people giving thanks. This year hasn’t been my favorite, but some great things have happened:

My mom survived getting hit by a car
My grandma finished chemotherapy and is now cancer-free
My nephew turned two and now says things like, “Nananny, I love you.”
I designed a spectacular 18-page magazine
I grew this blog and met some of my closest friends
I started running and have run four races this year. (I will have completed six by the end of 2010.)
I began a journey of self-discovery and have learned so much about the woman I am becoming

Some horrible things have happened:

My. Mom. Got. Hit. By. A. Car. (I still shudder when I think how worse this could have been.)
My grandma got cancer again
I ended my relationship with my father
I dealt with more anxiety and fear than I ever have in my life
I had major meltdowns while trying to deal with school stress

A lot happened. A lot didn’t happen. But I am thankful for a lot this year. I am thankful for my family and the outpouring of support I have received. I am thankful for the relationship I have with my mom. Our close relationship is something I treasure since I know many people don’t have this type of relationship. I am thankful for being an aunt because my nephew brings me more joy and happiness than I ever thought possible. I am thankful for the pushes and shoves I have gotten from family, professors, and God to be better than I ever thought I could be. I am thankful for God. For supporting me. For loving me when I know I can be extremely unlovable. For giving me tests and challenges, knowing I can handle them. And for always believing in me and always being there for me, even when I push Him away.

This blog is going to be silent until Tuesday as I spend time with my family and friends and visit Orlando for a fun mini-vacation. I hope everyone has a fabulous Thanksgiving!

What are you most thankful for this Thanksgiving? Tell me in the comments!

Categories: Holidays

A Wishlist

My birthday is in 11 days, but for the first time, I’m not excited about it. Maybe because it’s on a Sunday. Maybe because I don’t have any plans, aside from a fancy dinner whenever my brother is free. Maybe because I’m turning twenty-three and I’m sorry but twenty-three feels old. Really old. I feel perpetually sixteen. Maybe because this year hasn’t been all that exciting and I feel locked into fear and anxiety.

But I’m going to try to dredge up some birthday spirit because I am a girl who loves birthdays. My birthday, your birthday, my pet’s birthday…it’s always a special day! I’m also super excited about my birthday dinner because I chose The Melting Pot this year, a fondue restaurant that I haven’t been to in years. I’m already craving it!

Onto my wishlist! And since my birthday falls less than a month before Christmas, these are also things that worked their way onto my Christmas wishlist as well.

1. Nikon Coolpix S6000 14.2MP Digital Camera

As much as I would love a DSLR, I know I don’t have the patience or time to figure out all the fancy bells and whistles. All I want is a simple point & shoot to give me decent shots. Plus, I can’t see myself spending an insane amount of money on one of those cameras when I’m pretty much a pro at forgetting my camera at home. The camera I have now has some screwed-up settings, making my pictures either too light or too dark. I haven’t been able to fix it and with a sweet crack in the screen, it’s time to upgrade. (Plus, it’s only a 7MP! Oh, the horror!)

2. Microsoft VX-5000 LifeCam Webcam

I’m really jealous of bloggers Skype-ing with each other and I know I need a webcam soon or else! Sadly, I bought my computer for its cheap price and it didn’t include a webcam. I bought one earlier this year, but the picture quality was horrid. This one sounds like it should work much better! And it was not too expensive!

3. A Weekend Trip to Orlando

My mom asked me if I could do anything on my birthday, what would it be? I told her a weekend trip to Orlando. (Granted, a cruise would be nice. But it’s the end of the semester. I have too much homework! Ha!) My dream would be to leave on Friday, check into the hotel and go shopping, go to Aquatica on Saturday and Sea World on Sunday. The last time we went to Orlando, I had a sprained/broken ankle so the trip wasn’t much fun and we had to leave both theme parks early because of it. My fingers are crossed that my mom can get Saturday off work to go, but the chance is very slim. (Since she took off 8 weeks due to her broken elbow and has worked only half-days for the past month.)

4. A New Planner

Granted, I’m terrible at remembering to use my planner but it doesn’t stop me from eyeing new ones all the time. This one, in particular, is my favorite from Etsy shop, Red Star INK

5. Garmin Forerunner 110

I would really like to be one of the cool kids and have a Garmin. While I’m just running to run and not timing my distances yet (I’d like to be able to run 3 miles completely first!), I think it’s such a useful tool for runners. And I’m totally jealous of my mom, who has one. Again, I don’t need any bells and whistles, just a watch to measure my distance and time and heart rate.

6. Ribbon Board

The walls of my room are suspiciously bare. I’ve lived in this apartment for over a year and still haven’t put up any pictures or wall hangings or anything. I don’t know why but this just occurred to me a few months ago and now I’m trying to find ways to add a little color to my walls. I think this would be a fun way to do that, even if it is a little college dormitory.

7. Lululemon Mesh Headwrap

I don’t own any Lululemon products and actually just heard of the company in the past few months. I would love to just buy out their store because they have some cute stuff that I know would last and feel good during a run. And I found out they have an outlet store in Orlando. If #3 works out, there is definitely a trip there in my future!

I could probably add more to my list, such as a car or a job with Shape magazine, but I’m trying to keep it in the reality zone. Somewhat.

What’s on your wishlist this year?

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